FACT SHEET Yemen January 2019 Yemen is the world s largest protection crisis. The country needs USD 4.2 BN to provide life-saving assistance to 24.1 million Yemenis. Urgent funding is required for the largest consolidated humanitarian appeal Yemen ever launched. Cash remains at the forefront of UNHCR s assistance in Yemen. This year, UNHCR aims to assist 150,000 IDP families and 21,000 refugees with close to half of this year s budget. Protection space is shrinking for refugees and asylumseekers, including increasing lawlessness, arbitrary arrest and detention, trafficking and smuggling. FACTS AND FIGURES 24.1 million people in need 14.4 million in need of protection assistance 3.3 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and 1 million returnees FUNDING (AS OF 6 FEBRUARY 2019) USD 198.6 M requested for the Yemen Operation Funded 20% 39 M 81 per cent of IDPs displaced for more than one year 274,162 refugees and asylum-seekers (mainly from Somalia and Ethiopia) Unfunded 80% 160 M UNHCR PRESENCE Staff: 200 National Staff 36 International Staff Offices: 1 Branch Office in Sana a 1 Sub Office in Aden 4 Field Offices in Ibb, Kharaz, Hudaydah, and Sa ada 1 Support Office in Amman www.unhcr.org 1
Working with Partners UNHCR is a member of the UN Country Team (UNCT), leading the Protection cluster and Shelter/ NFI/ Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) cluster. UNHCR maintains a collaborative relationship with authorities in Sana a and the Government of Yemen currently operating from Aden to provide protection and basic services for people of concern countrywide. In 2019, UNHCR has signed partnership agreements with 24 organizations and counterparts, of which 75 per cent are national partners. UNHCR leads the multi-sector response for refugees and asylum-seekers in Yemen, both in urban settings and in Kharaz refugee camp, maintaining regular interaction with national and local authorities, international and national NGOs and refugees. Main Activities Protection The 2019 Humanitarian Needs Overview: Four years of conflict continues to exacerbate the humanitarian situation in Yemen with unprecedented gaps for UNHCR s people of concern. According to OCHA, the needs of this year are 27 per cent higher than last year, when it already was the most severe global crisis. Protection of civilians remains a major priority in Yemen with an estimated 80 per cent of the population 24.1 million people require some form of humanitarian or protection assistance, including 14.3 million who are in acute need. While peace talks that re-initiated after two years and are seeing signs of progress, civilians continue to face serious risks to their safety, wellbeing and basic rights, compounded by the economic decline in most of 2018. Conditions for refugees and asylum-seekers in Yemen are worsening and protection space continues to shrink. Protection challenges persist such as increasing lawlessness, arbitrary arrest and detention of refugees and asylum-seekers, trafficking and smuggling persist. Humanitarian access: UNHCR continues to advocate for unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access and for the protection of civilians by working with the highest level of authorities. Given the continued escalation of conflicts in Al Hudaydah, Taizz and Sa ada governorate, recent development of peace talks and the possibility of returns to Hudaydah, UNHCR, with sister agencies and partners, continues to provide protection, assistance and durable solutions to IDPs, IDP returnees, refugees and asylum-seekers. A mini-hub is expected to open in Taizz governorate this May that will greatly improve the humanitarian community s access, response and coordination to the beneficiaries, and field offices in Al Hudaydah and Ibb that covers Taizz governorate will remain fully operational. Arrivals to Yemen: Despite the conflict and rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation, an estimated 150,000 people made the journey to Yemen in 2018 according to IOM mainly from Ethiopia and Somalia. A small proportion sought international protection, whilst others were in search of livelihood prospects or seeking to transit to the Gulf states. Since the mixed migration programme ended in May 2017, the new arrivals to UNHCR are those who approach our registration centres and submit an asylum claim. During 2018, 5,854 individuals registered with UNHCR. Refugees: Refugees and asylum-seekers in Yemen continue to face challenges such as smuggling, trafficking and restricted access to territory. UNHCR provides assistance to refugees and asylumseekers including protection monitoring, registration that allows them access to education and health, specialized services and comprehensive case management for vulnerable children and survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). With the backdrop of the fragile socio-economic situation in Yemen took a dire effect on livelihood opportunities. Cash assistance became the only sustenance for many refugees and asylum-seekers. Lastly, UNHCR is concerned with the increased detention and restrictions of freedom of movement for refugees, and focusses on advocacy with the authorities for alternatives and release. ASR: In 2017, UNHCR initiated the Assisted Spontaneous Return (ASR) programme for Somali refugees, and works with IOM, the Yemeni and Somali authorities to support refugees voluntary return www.unhcr.org 2
to Somalia. A total of 3,684 individuals have now returned to Berbera, Somalia out of over 6,300 Somalis who have been counselled on conditions in their country of origin, available assistance and return procedures. In 2019, an estimated 5,000 are expected to return. Challenges remain for refugees from other countries who have often found themselves stranded in Yemen despite their wish to leave. UNHCR is exploring ways to respond to this need. Registration: Activities for new arrivals and documentation renewal interviews for existing refugees and asylum-seekers have been on-going by the Bureau for Refugee Affairs (BRA) in Sana a since November 2018 after a two-year suspension. UNHCR is present daily to build the capacity of the BRA registration staff and provide guidance. Pre-requisites for registration such as HIV medical tests and area-elder address verification continue to affect access to registration and prove to be a financial burden to refugees. In the south of Yemen, UNHCR deals with a high and frequent turnover of government interlocutors and increasingly security-driven policies through three registration centres in Kharaz camp, Aden and Mukalla. IDPs: There are currently 4.34 million IDPs and 1 million IDP returnees in Yemen with 81 per cent of them having been displaced for more than a year. The protracted cases are particularly vulnerable with limited resilience and are at greater risk of sliding into negative coping mechanisms, requiring targeted needs. UNHCR s Community Based Protection Networks (CBPNs) are an important tool to monitor protection risks, identify and address vulnerable protection cases and refer to in-depth assessments. The capacity of the members are further enhanced by training on child protection, SGBV, access to legal remedies, documentation and social cohesion to which they then raise awareness on these topics within their communities living in camps, and IDP hosting sites. Through referring cases to UNHCR s eight established IDP community centres across the country, more than 103,000 individuals received psychosocial counselling, social counselling or legal assistance last year. As half of the IDPs are female, including 27 per cent below the age of 18, UNHCR is strengthening protection interventions for returnees and IDPs with a focus on SGBV. Protection Cluster: UNHCR leads the Protection Cluster, ensuring a coordinated response to the protection needs of the displaced and conflict-affected population of Yemen. With the aftermath of the conflicts in Al Hudaydah, Hajjah and west of Taizz, the need to protect civilians remains paramount. This year, there are 14.4 million people in need of protection, 8.2 million people in acute need of protection and 4.8 million targeted for protection with an emphasis on first line responses. This year, the Protection cluster will be intensifying the monitoring of incidents, which impact the security of civilians with partners such as Civilian Impact Monitoring Project (CIMP), scaling up specialized assistance to victims of violence and marking and clearing land infested by explosive remnants of war and unexploded ordnance. Cash assistance Cash assistance for protection and shelter needs: Cash assistance is a central protection modality and solution strategy. The operation puts great emphasis on monitoring those with protection needs and providing cash assistance as our first line of response while identifying referral pathways for specialized services through our partners. While the assistance is normally provided through mobile phone-based money transfer, emergency cases are brought to the eight UNHCR managed community centres where cash is provided. A portion of the beneficiaries are also the vulnerable host community. Through close protection monitoring of the urban IDP context, UNHCR is also providing cash assistance to vulnerable IDPs to cover their shelter needs in the form of rental subsidies. During the cold seasons, with the Yemen Shelter/NFI/CCCM Cluster support, UNHCR also provides cash assistance for winter support for those living in areas that experiences low temperatures. Shelter and Core Relief Items (CRIs) Providing Shelter and CRIs: A core component of UNHCR s protection activities is to provide adequate, sustainable and dignified shelter and CRIs in humanitarian emergencies to vulnerable IDPs and IDP returnees. Across Yemen, 3.9 million IDPs are struggling to cope with displacement. Many are destitute in the absence of livelihoods, access to income, health care and sufficient food. In 2018, there were on-going security difficulties and challenges in access throughout 2018, however UNHCR www.unhcr.org 3
still managed to provide material assistance to over 1.2 million IDPs in 2018. Around 85 per cent of UNHCR s in-kind distributions was after the escalation of fighting in Al Hudaydah in June and Hajjah in October. UNHCR provided emergency shelter kits to over 17,000 IDP families and core relief items such as mattresses, blankets and other household items to over 100,000 IDP families. This year, if adequate funding is identified, UNHCR aims to provide ESKs and CRIs to 45,000 and 88,000 families respectively. The decrease of the numbers of in-kind distribution is in line with the view to replace inkind donations with cash assistance. This strategy is aligned with UNHCR s global effort to prioritize the dignity of choice, while also directly supporting the challenged Yemeni economy. Transitional shelters and upgrading: The construction of 3,200 transitional shelters are in their final stages in Abs district, Hajjah governorate where some 23,000 IDP families have been identified recently. Transitional shelters offer a more traditional and sustainable shelter solution for those who have been displaced for a prolonged period. Furthermore, they are made with local materials, which are more adaptable to the seasons. Various upgrading and rehabilitation of IDP sites in the southern governorates of Yemen are also on-going. Spontaneous sites that consists of make-shift shelters are installed with transitional shelters, WASH facilities and communal kitchens, providing decongestion and improved living environment. Shelter/NFI/CCCM Cluster: UNHCR is also the lead agency of the Shelter/ NFI/ CCCM Cluster, providing guidance and support along with critical coordination to all partners responding to shelter needs in Yemen. This year, the cluster aims to assist 6.7 million people in need of Shelter/NFI/CCCM support, 4.5 million in acute need of assistance and 3 million targeted for assistance. In 2019, Shelter cluster will be placing emphasis on helping the local authorities better manage formal and informal sites, engaging with local authorities to ensure that the sites are secure and that families living in the sites are protected and have access to emergency services and scaling up basic WASH, health, shelter and protection assistance in some 500 under-served sites and establishing rapid referral mechanisms for out-of-site services. Education Refugee children have free access to camp and public schools. UNHCR coordinates with the Ministry of Education to facilitate refugee children s access to public schools and quality education. UNHCR and partners also organize informal education, including literacy and numeracy classes, and run childfriendly spaces. During 2018-2019 academic year, UNHCR in Sana a continues to support 10 public schools with some 20,000 refugee and Yemeni students with equipment, teacher training and school maintenance. In Aden, UNHCR signed an agreement with the Ministry of Education (MoE) in 2018 for the implementation of the refugee education programme in Aden and Kharaz refugee camp to ensure that some 9,000 refugee children are supported in collaboration with the authorities. In addition, a total of 836 out-of-school children were reached and enrolled in schools country-wide, while 560 students benefitted from various informal classes through accelerated education programme, language classes and numeracy classes. In Kharaz, the only refugee camp in Yemen with some 8,000 refugees, 83 per cent of primary-aged children are enrolled in camp schools. There is a slight decline in numbers from last year due to the successful ASR programme and high mobility of students between the camp and urban areas. UNHCR is also currently in discussion with the Ministry of Education and governorate authorities with a view to integrate Kharaz schools into the national education system. Rehabilitation work has also taken place at Kharaz camp schools, with improvements being made to classrooms, washrooms, and shaded outdoor areas. UNHCR also supports an Early Childhood Education programme which provides children aged 3 5 years old with a safe space to learn and play to support the out-of-school children who would otherwise stay home to care for younger siblings. Countrywide, 78 students are also studying at the tertiary level supported by DAFI and protection scholarship programmes. www.unhcr.org 4
Health Health-care remains a critical need as only half of the facilities are currently functioning in the country. Since the conflict in 2015 March, Yemen has been heavily dependent on external help to respond to the health needs. UNHCR, in cooperation with partners, provides primary health-care services, pharmaceutical and reproductive health service, HIV/AIDS prevention and response for both refugees and Yemeni host communities. UNHCR also provides mental health support and has established referral mechanisms with local hospitals for emergency cases and persons with complicated medical conditions. UNHCR supported clinics also help early detection of cholera, treatment, sample testing, reproductive health care and referral to secondary health services. Targeted awareness raising through home visits is conducted for families with suspected cases of cholera. External / Donors Relations UNHCR Yemen is grateful for the generous support provided by: United Kingdom (4.5 M) European Union (3.4 M) Qatar Charity (1.3 M) Qatar (1.3 M) Saudi Arabia (1.2 M) Belgium (0.8 M) Miscellaneous donors in Egypt (0.5 M) Spain (0.5 M). Thanks to other donors of regional and sub-regional funds in 2019: Germany (10.5 M) Special thanks to the major donors of unrestricted and regional funds in 2019: Sweden (90.4 M) Denmark (54.9 M) Norway (44.5 M) Netherlands (37.5 M) United Kingdom (31.7 M) Germany (27.3 M) Switzerland (15.1 M) www.unhcr.org 5